Taken together, these statistics indicate a "significant decline" in the amount of energy used per unit of gross manufacturing output.

The significant decline in energy intensity reflects both improvements in energy efficiency and changes in the manufacturing output mix. Consumption of every fuel used for manufacturing declined over this period, according to the agency.

The report notes: "Energy consumed as a fuel includes all energy used for heat and power. Energy used as feedstock is the use of energy sources for raw material input or for any purpose other than the production of heat or power."

United States manufacturing was found to have used over 14 quadrillion BTUs of energy as a fuel in 2010, a decrease of 13 percent from the 2002 level. Fuel consumption in the five most energy-intensive sub-sectors accounted for 81 percent of fuel use in manufacturing.

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